I'd rather be having a quiet drink... and can be followed on Twitter @alcothusiast; and friended on Untappd (handle: "neilcake" - all welcome).

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

Merlyn Welsh Cream

Here’s an
interesting one. I sent Mrs Cake out to pick up a bottle of Aldi’s Ballycastle
Premium Irish Cream to accompany us to the family Christmas in Fleet last year…
and she forgot – but not entirely. She’d already been in Aldi and had gotten to
Tesco when she remembered. She considered Bailey’s but, much more
interestingly, plumped for this. This is Merlyn
Welsh Cream and it is made with malted barley spirit from the Penderyn distillery.

It is housed in a
black, matt, Bruichladdich-style bottle
that the Penderyn website calls modern, with a red strip label that, together
with the bottle, signifies the premium nature of the brand – it also says.
Sounds like a pitch from The Apprentice to
me. The writing is described as “hand drawn calligraphy” and “reflects its
smooth and mellow flavour”. Quite how, I’m not sure but we’ll go with it. It
goes on in the tasting notes to describe nose and palate impressions before
backing out of describing the finish as it is “too complex to describe”. May as
well not bother then.

They apparently
produce just one cask of spirit per day as they use only the finest malted
barley. That’s nice because, you know, it’s not like everyone else claims to
use only the finest malted barley. Does that even mean anything? Does it mean
they don’t make any of this finest malted barley into whisky, or does it mean
they set aside one cask per day for making the welsh cream, while the rest goes
to making the Penderyn whisky? Anyway, they bottle it at a commendable 17
ABVs and while it normally retails
around £17, this bottle was only £10. At £10 it’s good value, at £17 much less
so.

A quick nose around
the interwebs has revealed that the Merlyn has really tickled the fancy of a
few people – many proclaiming it to be better than Baileys. Shall we give it an
evaluation of our own then?

Let’s see, it’s much
lighter in colour than I’ve come to expect from Irish cream. It smells malty
and tastes milky and, while it’s quite thin, you can taste the whisky – or perhaps more accurately,
malt barley spirit – it won’t have been aged long enough (or at all) to be able
to be called whisky. The balance is good; not too sweet. This is probably where
some people’s preference over Baileys comes in. I actually prefer Baileys – and
even the Ballycastle Premium – they are more like desserts, while this one is
more the consistency and style of an iced coffee. It’s pleasant enough for a
change, but it’s never going to be my favourite of the genre.

That's it for this week; just a quick one. Next week I think I'll be evaluating an Islay classic - the Bunnahabhain 12. See you then.

Definitions

What happens when you zone out after having had a cheeky lunchtime pint.

Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

Anxiety, The:

The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

Booze Buffet Mentality:

The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

Booze Porn:Photos of alcohol.

Bread Chest:Not booze related, but this term describes the indigestion you get from eating too many bread products too quickly. Just putting it out there...

Crawler's Block:The inability to decide where to go next during a pub crawl - often resulting in crawl stagnation and someone saying, "shall we just have another one here?"

Crawl Stagnation:The result of failing to plan a pub crawl sufficiently - lack of a route, theme or over-familiarity with nearby pubs can all be contributing factors.

Excess Induced Alcohol Aversion:An intolerance for a drink caused (usually) by one occasion of overindulgence.

The Family:My whisky collection.

MOMA:

Moment of Maximum Appreciation. Every bottle has one. It's the time you drink it where you enjoy it most.

Old Man Pub:Traditional British pub, renowned for being quiet, cosy and frequented by old men. Much favoured by people who like a nice chat while they drink.Psychological Drinks Cabinet:Collective term relating to the kinds of alcoholic drinks a person has need for.Road Beers:

Cans of beer that you take with you when you go out, to consume on the way.

The 3 Types of Rum:White, gold and dark. Together they form the base of many a great cocktail.

About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.